INTRODUCTION Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is a rare disease characterized by presence of multilocular cysts in the gastrointestinal wall. Rarely, patients may experience symptoms secondary to the cysts. The pathogenesis of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is still unclear and many theories have been advocated to explain the exact origin. Complications occur in about 3% of cases and incl...

HYPOTHESIS A review of the spectrum of illness associated with pneumatosis intestinalis enables us to identify the probable causes of, the best diagnostic approaches to, and the most appropriate treatments for this condition. DATA SOURCES A review of all published material in the English language regarding pneumatosis intestinalis was conducted using the PubMed and MEDLINE databases. Any rele...

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular opportunistic protists that infect a wide variety of animals, including humans, via environmentally resistant spores. Infection requires that spores be in close proximity to host cells so that the hollow polar tube can pierce the cell membrane and inject the spore contents into the cell cytoplasm. Like other eukaryotic microbes, microsporidia may use spe...

There is an urgent need to develop and test potential eradication agents to prevent biofouling by ascidian tunicates in sheltered harbor’s before they can spread to, and subsequently, disrupt benthic ecosystems and aquaculture ventures. We test the effects of bubble streams and suspended particles on two key stages in the early life cycle of Ciona intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1767); (i) Larval settl...

Giardia intestinalis encystment results in the incorporation of galactosamine (GalN) (a cystwall specific sugar) into outer cyst wall filaments [1,2]. GalN is synthesized during encystment from endogenous glucose by an inducible enzyme pathway [3] and the first reaction unique to GalN synthesis is the conversion of fructose-6phosphate (F6P) to glucosamine 6-phosphate (G1cN6P) [4,5]. In G. intes...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) techniques reported to have high sensitivity and specificity and the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test used to determine antigens in stool samples in the routine diagnosis of Giardia intestinalis. When 44 stool samples in which G. intestinalis cysts and/or trophozoites had been seen during nati...

INTRODUCTION Giardia intestinalis is the most important and common diarrhea-causing parasitic protozoa worldwide with growing clinical relevance in public health. There are many documented cases of G. intestinalis resistance to metronidazole (MZ). Pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR), the membrane-localized enzyme, plays a key role in the development of resistance to drugs. The aim of the...

The tunicate Ciona intestinalis is an opportunistic invader with high potential for causing economic losses in aquaculture centers. Recent phylogenetic and population genetic analysis support the existence of a genetic complex described as C. intestinalis with two main dominant species (sp A and B) occurring worldwide. In Chile, the species has been observed around 30°S of latitude, but no offi...